Our study, titled "Phase Equilibria Insights into Amine-Water-NaCl Interactions in Liquid-Liquid Biphasic Systems for Temperature Swing Solvent Extraction", has been published in Desalination.
To deepen our fundamental understanding of temperature swing solvent extraction (TSSE), this study investigates the influence of temperature, the key operating parameter, on the equilibrium partitioning of water, salt, and solvent. A productivity-selectivity tradeoff is established, with lower selectivity concomitantly accompanying higher productivity. Transport of Na+ and Cl− ions into the organic phase of biphasic mixtures is observed to be equimolar, disproving a long-standing finding of a previous study that cations and anions partition into the organic phase in different quantities. The study puts forth compelling evidence that water-ion interactions are more important than amine-ion interactions in the organic phase, resolving a critical gap in understanding of salt transport. The findings of this study can provide important insights for the informed development of TSSE for hypersaline desalination.
